The Things They Carried

By: Tim O'Brien

Narrated by: Bryan Cranston

Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

This modern classic and New York Times best seller was a finalist for both the 1990 Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award and has become a staple of American classrooms. Hailed by The New York Times as "a marvel of storytelling", The Things They Carried’s portrayal of the boots-on-the-ground experience of soldiers in the Vietnam War is a landmark in war writing. Now, three-time Emmy Award winner Bryan Cranston, star of the hit TV series Breaking Bad, delivers an electrifying performance that walks the book’s hallucinatory line between reality and fiction and highlights the emotional power of the spoken word.

The soldiers in this collection of stories carried M-16 rifles, M-60 machine guns, and M-79 grenade launchers. They carried plastic explosives, hand grenades, flak jackets, and landmines. But they also carried letters from home, illustrated Bibles, and pictures of their loved ones. Some of them carried extra food or comic books or drugs. Every man carried what he needed to survive, and those who did carried their shattering stories away from the jungle and back to a nation that would never understand.

This audiobook also includes an exclusive recording “The Vietnam in Me,” a recount of the author’s trip back to Vietnam in 1994, revisiting his experience there as a soldier 25 years before, read by Tim O’Brien himself.

The Things They Carried was produced by Audible Studios in partnership with Playtone, the celebrated film and television production company founded by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, and producer of the award-winning series Band of Brothers, John Adams, and The Pacific, as well as the HBO movie Game Change.

For more from Audible and Playtone, click here.

©1990 Tim O'Brien (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Cranston may be the most charismatic embodiment of moral ambiguity we currently possess. There was always something comforting as well as menacing in Walter White's voice, and Cranston attacks O'Brien's sober, sinewy prose with slightly scary authority.... [I]f you were a binge-watcher of Breaking Bad it will be no big deal to spend six hours in his company here." ( The New York Times Book Review)

"Structurally the novel gestures to William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, while Ryan's sensitive observations on Irish life seem responsive to the work of his compatriot Patrick McCabe. That Ryan does not look out of place in such literary company is a measure of his achievement." ( The Financial Times)

"The best of these stories--and none is written with less than the sharp edge of honed vision--are memory and prophecy. These tell us not where we were but where we are, and perhaps where we will be. . . . It is an ultimate, indelible image of war in our time, and in time to come." ( Los Angeles Times)

"O'Brien's haunting collection of connected stories about the Vietnam War is more alive than ever in this narration. Bryan Cranston's resonant, sometimes formal, performance often leaves the listener reeling. Cranston's voice is deep and patient, laying back to let the characters' collective pain take the fore. Memorable scenes include a man's receipt of his draft notice in "On the Rainy River," battle scenes in "The Man I Killed," and aspects of the war's aftermath in "Speaking of Courage." In all the works, Cranston offers a measured, compassionate voice. O'Brien's stories emphasize the importance of telling the truth of war stories, and Cranston's respect for his intent is clear and comforting. At times, his sonorous tone is hypnotic, but this is more an asset than a liability. All the better to make the listener feel." ( AudioFile)

He has a way with words

Listening to this reminded me of my dad reading me his favorite stories from Hemingway & Edgar Allan Poe at bedtime. O'Brien has a way with words, despite the subject the adjective that comes to mind is "delicious", his writing is delicious. And evocative. Narration was also spot on, perfect pairing.

Historical fiction

I read this for my freshman year of HS summer book report. I'm glad I chose this over the classic easier book "The Great Gatsby" that I would soon read for another class. I revisited this book with audible and the extra special essay read by O'Brien himself was the cherry on top! I'm glad O'Brien was able to find a resting place for the things he carried. 💙

The best Vietnam account ever written.

I have read or listened to so many books on Vietnam. To date this book stands far above any other. Poignant, haunting, visceral and emotional. Masterful writing and story telling and equally supurb narration by Bryan Cranston make the audio version even better than the book. This was my 3rd and to date most engrossing trip into this powerful piece, and I know I will be back again.

Tim O'Brien brings powerful truth.

Cranston give the narrative the full force of his talent, imbues characters and scenes with brilliance. O'Brien paid a steep price to bring us this truth. He should be highly respected for his commitment and craft.

Moving stories of the men who fought in Vietnam

It's hard to classify this novel. It's more a series of interconnected vignettes/stories and it is clearly very autobiographical but not quite a memoir.

You will grow attached to the well defined characters and then they will die, often horribly and always senselessly, I was pleasantly surprised that there were even a few women who came out as relatively three dimensional, although of necessity the stories are mostly about men since they were the ones who were drafted to fight. I do have to say I was both relieved and disbelieving that there were no descriptions of sexual assault.

Overall, beautifully written and well narrated. A classic of a genre that I wish didn't exist.

Lost and never found

Book started of great with a great performance. I got lost in the story line jumping from story to story and couldn't bring myself back to the flow.

Awesome book, couldn’t stop listening

Great job with descriptive writing, the author can really create the feeling of actually being there.

One I come back to

Such smart storytelling, emotionally gripping. The Vietnam war has always been a fascination, the horror of war told from someone who saw it first hand is unbeatable.

Perspective. Pain. Perseverance.

I really like how this novel loops around and goes back and forth in time just like we tend to do in our minds. Almost as if starting to tell a story but not quite emotionally ready to talk about it yet. So the author merely introduces a VIP character early on (Linda) but doesn’t explain her significance until much later in the book. Also, I felt like Tim withheld his identity in a way, I wonder if to make way for others? Either way, it really works and I appreciate the many stories within the story style. I feel a deeper connection to the human condition of surviving a war and the Armymen’s rhetoric during times of pain, discomfort, fear, death and ultimately loss of self. I’m forever changed and thankful for writers like Tim who have opened themselves up to the world’s judgments and empathies.

Somewhat disappointed

While a very raw portrayal of the Vietnam War, I felt it was disjointed and jumbled.